Iowa Politics Insider: Branstad campaign hires new operative

The re-election campaign of Gov. Terry Branstad and Lt. Gov. Kim Reynolds said Wednesday it is hiring Tommy Schultz, a Republican political operative with no prior experience in Iowa, as its communications director. He succeeds Jimmy Centers, who has left to become chief spokesman for the Branstad-Reynolds administration at the Iowa Statehouse.

Schultz is a graduate of Stanford University, where he was president of the Stanford Conservative Society.

Most recently he was director of public affairs for JDA Frontline, a public affairs firm in Washington, D.C. Schultz was the Victory communications director for New Hampshire during the Romney/Ryan campaign where Manchester’s WMUR-TV said he “stood out among all of the state communications people across the country,” according to a campaign news release.

“Tommy has distinguished himself as a creative communications professional with significant campaign and private sector experience,” Branstad-Reynolds campaign manager Jake Ketzner said in a prepared statement.

— William Petroski

Braley barnstorms for vets’ tax credit

U.S. Rep. Bruce Braley, an Iowa Democrat, traveled around the state Wednesday to push for renewal of a federal tax credit that awards employers who hire military veterans.

The Returning Heroes and Wounded Warrior tax credits, which are set to expire at the end of the year, provide businesses that hire military service members looking to re-enter the workforce with tax credits of between $2,400 and $9,600 for each veteran the company hires.

Braley is pushing for a permanent renewal to the tax credits, according to his office.

A renewal of the tax credit this year looks unlikely, since members of the U.S. House ended work for the year and went home last week. U.S. senators will do so this week.

“It’s unacceptable that Congress adjourned for the year before extending the veterans job creation credit for businesses. When Congress returns in January, it should immediately pass a permanent extension of this credit, making it retroactive to Jan. 1,” Braley said in a statement.

The unemployment rate for veterans 18 years and over was 6.7 percent in November. The rate for post-9/11 veterans, however, was 9.9 percent in November.

In an email, a spokeswoman for Braley said more than 50,000 certifications under the Work Opportunity Tax Credit for veterans were given to employers across the nation in fiscal year 2013. The Work Opportunity Tax Credit is the overarching program for tax credits awarded to employers who hire members of “target groups,” such as military veterans. Each certification represents one veteran or National Guard member hired using the tax credit.

In Iowa, the spokeswoman said, 734 applications for the federal tax break were submitted in 2013, up from 628 in 2012.

— Matthew Patane

King statement praises Latham

U.S. Rep. Steve King of Kiron, whose sometimes brash approach has been seen as contrasting with the low-key style of U.S. Rep. Tom Latham of Clive, issued a statement on Wednesday saluting his Republican colleague, who has announced he will not seek re-election in 2014.

“Tom Latham will have served in Congress for 20 years by his date of retirement,” King said. “He has been a reliable conservative whom I count as a friend and with whom I count it a privilege to serve. Tom is quiet and humble with the natural self-deprecating humor of a Norwegian. He has used his skills to benefit Iowans in the quiet and deft way that is his trademark. As much as I would like to see him stay in Congress, I can’t, in good conscience, ask more of Tom than he has, over two decades, freely given. A ride off into the sunset well earned. Thanks, Tom.”